Honest & Unbiased Opinion
Have you ever asked your spouse if they like your new haircut? How have you answered this question to your spouse? My guess is that you answer in the affirmative and that your spouse does the same when you ask the question. “Of course I love your new haircut honey!” How about, “Honey, does my butt look big in these pants?” My guess is that you answer in the negative here – “Of course not!” Are these unbiased and objective opinions? Probably not. And that’s probably okay when it comes to our spouses and their haircuts. But what if your haircut really did look terrible? Wouldn’t you want an unbiased and honest opinion so that you can fix the situation? I know I would.
Have you ever had a door-to-door salesman come and ask if they can assess your windows? Do you think this person is unbiased? No way – they are employed by a window company that wants your business. Do you think this individual will give you an honest assessment of the quality and condition of your windows? Probably not – they will probably tell you that your windows need upgrading; after all, upgrading your windows is how they will make their commission.
It’s important that a risk assessment and security systems audit is not like asking your spouse about your hair or having a window salesman tell you about the status of your 
windows. You want a factual and unbiased opinion. You want an expert. You want someone who has seen it before so that they’re using best practices and industry standards as their guidelines. An expert that is not being paid by any particular brand or vendor of software or hardware will recommend the best option for you rather than the option that makes them a commission. An expert that knows how to integrate newer technology into your existing technology will help save you money.
As you think about having a risk assessment performed for your business, school, or organization, use these questions to help determine the validity of your consultant:
- Have they ever received a commission or direct payment from the vendor they’re recommending? It’s important that your consultant is not receiving a commission or direct payment from either the products or the vendors they recommend, otherwise they’re probably recommending products based on their own gain rather than your best interests.
- Do they do the installation themselves? It’s important your consultant is not doing the installation themselves, otherwise they may recommend products or systems that they prefer to install rather than the best system for your needs.
- Have they ever been a representative of a particular brand or company? Again, this may indicate that their recommendation will be biased towards the company or vendor they have represented in the past.
- Can they recommend ways to use your existing systems / hardware / software to improve security without buying all new tech? By integrating your existing tech in with new tech shows that your consultant is committed to both your budget and best interests.
- Can they name five projects similar in scope to your own and the vendors that ended up doing the recommended work? If the last four out of five projects were all sourced out to the same vendor to do the work, you may question whether their recommendations are based on the capabilities of this preferred vendor rather than your organization’s needs.
To Do Today: For help understanding emergency planning and risk assessment, contact us and let’s start a conversation.
Some interesting sites we like right now:
Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Reports
2017 Seasonal Preparedness Calendar
Jedi master of data visualization
For more information, check out our website at www.invictusconsulting.com or email us.